Altimetric’s High Five – Feel-Good Scientific Research (November 2017)

Welcome to the Altmetric High Five in association with the Science Council. On a monthly basis, the High Five posts examine a selection of the most popular research outputs Altmetric has seen attention for that month.

The original post can be found on the Altmetric blog here. Links to all papers included can be found in the Reference section at the end.

Over 200 news outlets, including many broadcast news outlets, covered the study.

2. Skin deep

Keratinocytes (stained green) in the skin of a mouse. Credit: M. Menacho-Márquez.

Our next High Five paper is “Regeneration of the entire human epidermis using transgenic stem cells,” published in Nature this month. The authors used autologous transgenic keratinocyte cultures to regenerate an entire, fully functional epidermis on a seven-year-old child suffering from junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB), a disease that causes chronic skin wounds and skin cancers.

The study authors report the discovery of a very large, mysterious void above the Grand Gallery, which constitutes the first major inner structure found in the Great Pyramid since the 19th century. While evidence of the void existed previously, the new visualization method based on particle physics provides greater detail about its structure.

Nearly 200 news outlets covered the study, which was also highly tweeted.

4. Coffee time

Coffee beans. Credit: Isai Symens, via Wikimedia.

More good news, for coffee drinkers. Our next High Five paper is “Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes” published in BMJ this month. Based on an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational and interventional research on health outcomes related to coffee consumption, the study authors conclude that coffee consumption is more often associated with benefit than harm for a range of health outcomes across exposures.

Nearly 130 news outlets covered the study.

5. New Orangutan on the block

Our final High Five paper, “Morphometric, Behavioral, and Genomic Evidence for a New Orangutan Species,” appeared in Current Biology this month. The study authors use morphology and genetic analysis to describe a new species of great apes, the Tapanuli orangutan Pongo tapanuliensis. But the good news may end there. With fewer than 800 individuals, P. tapanuliensis is among the most endangered great apes.

About the author: Altmetric

Altmetric tracks thousands of scholarly articles published each month, collating mentions of published research from dozens of digital platforms. Data gathered by Altmetric is used by researchers, institutions, publishers and funders across the globe to illustrate the wider impact and influence that scholarly publications have on public policy, as well as in media outlets, social networks and amongst online scholarly communities.